


Tall Problems. Short Answers.

by Phisobi



Series: Prompt Oneshots [2]
Category: Original Work, Wradsworld
Genre: Bullying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, First Meetings, Fluff, G/T, GT, Giant/Tiny, Hurt/Comfort, Oneshot, Prompt Fic, Size Difference, Strangers to Lovers, Teen Romance, Tumblr Prompt, giant, highschool, sort of? hes a half giant., they hit it off right away after the coffee B)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:01:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26071570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phisobi/pseuds/Phisobi
Summary: G/T Prompt Oneshot: #19: "You're not a monster. Don't listen to them."Content warnings for bullying and self-deprecation due to said bullying.An AU where humans and giants (and, very rarely, half-giants) exist, but don't interact a lot thanks to the division in living sectors. This short story follows a half-giant protagonist, who doesn't really fit on either side of the spectrum. He's closer to the size of a human, so he ends up attending an all-human highschool. But, as we all know, highschool sucks. (until you make the right friends)
Relationships: Original Female Character/Original Male Character
Series: Prompt Oneshots [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1868347
Comments: 3
Kudos: 23





	Tall Problems. Short Answers.

**Author's Note:**

> im honestly really proud of this one!! i dont think ive ever written something from a first person perspective, and i have no idea what drove me to do it now, but im glad i did! hopefully someone else likes it as much as i do. thank u for the prompt!!

It took forever to get used to things not being my size. For my whole life I've struggled with even simple, mundane things like fitting through doors and cooking food. Even holding a pencil without breaking it took me months of practice; Having control over my strength was another thing I had to learn in order to fit in.

But I'll never really fit in.

Ever since I was a kid, my parents knew I was...  _ different _ . Normal human kids didn't accidentally rip the gates off their cribs, or eat enough to feed a starving family. But the real differences showed as I got a little older. At age five, I was five feet tall. At age thirteen, I was seven feet tall. Now, at seventeen, I stand at a towering ten foot two. 

Hopefully the growing comes to an end soon. Things are getting a little cramped in my house, but it's nothing I'm not used to. On more than one occasion I've grown tired of my legs hanging off of my bed, and went to sleep outside in the yard underneath the stars. It was admittedly a little chilly, but nothing compares to having the space to be able to comfortably stretch out to my full height, and not damage anything in the process.

Which was one of the many reasons why I didn't want to move.

The people in the small town that I grew up in were no strangers to my size. In a place where everyone knows each other by name, words spread pretty fast. But, thankfully, it wasn't all bad words. It took them a while to warm up to me, but when the other kids saw that I was just like them, only bigger, their fears dropped and we became friends. After seeing how well I got along with the kids, the rest of the town quickly followed suit.

I actually managed to land a few side jobs here and there; Mainly just helping out with heavy lifting, putting up decorations for the town, or seeing if the farms could use an extra hand, but they all paid well. No one in the town had ever seen a half giant before, let alone a full sized one, so after they got over their fears they were grateful when I offered to do the jobs nobody else could.

So when the day came to say goodbye, nobody was smiling. The town loved me and my family, and we loved them back, but all good things must come to an end, I suppose.

My father had gotten a transfer to a city a couple towns over -- It was a small city, but still a place much bigger than I was used to. Somehow, the streets felt both more open and more cramped at the same time. Sure there was lots of.. stuff everywhere, but the sheer size of the place made me feel  _ small. _ Something I've never felt before.

This city was also the first place I ever saw anyone like me. My parents were moving to the human side of the city so there weren't really any giants in sight, but there were still traces of them everywhere. As we drove my eyes landed on a huge billboard-- I couldn't even tell what the text was advertising, and I didn't care. In front of a baby blue background was a hand, palm up, lifting another person. My stomach did flips at the sight, and I wondered if there really were giants that big who exist. The ad didn't look edited, but these days you never know.

I stole a glance over to the east side of the city, where the smallest buildings loomed like skyscrapers, and frowned. A part of me always felt like I never belonged in the human world, always too big or too loud or too destructive, but a part of me knew that I wouldn't belong on the other end, either. I would be considered tiny to a giant, and if I tried to live in their world everything would be equally disproportionate.

Half giants are very rare, so the world hasn't had time to make a place just for us. We exist awkwardly between the two worlds, making compromises every day.

But one compromise I didn't want to make was going to an all-human school.

"Seriously?!" I yelled, raking my hands through my messy black hair. "There's  _ no _ other options?" 

"I'm sorry, Jake," my mom apologized, and a part of me deep down knew she really was. "But this is all we can afford right now."

I looked away, saying nothing. I knew they had spent more money on this new place than they had originally intended just so that I would have a comfortable amount of room, and I was eternally grateful for that, but I really didn't want to start from square one again with a bunch of judgmental teenagers. I sighed, frustrated that my dad's job couldn't wait another year until my graduation before making us move.

"Please, just try it." She continued. "It might not be all that bad." 

But we both knew that was a lie. When you're four feet taller than the tallest kid in the school, you're bound to get stared at.

Or worse.

\---------

No one talked to me for the first week of me being there. Except for the teachers and the principal, but they don't count. They  _ have _ to talk to me. Everybody else either steered clear or looked at me from the sidelines. I didn't mind the stares, as they were something I was completely used to, but the  _ laughter _ is what got under my skin. 

I'd hear them, even if they think I didn't. Snickers in the halls when I walk by, girls huddled together in their groups, leaning in and whispering. I could usually silence their giggles with a well-placed glare, although I didn't like to. I'm not usually a grumpy person, but being treated like some big lumbering beast to avoid was starting to get on my nerves.

But I couldn't lash out, not without damaging my already shoddy reputation even more, so I suffered in silence. I didn't want them to be afraid of me more than they already were so I didn't start fights or punch walls or show any signs of the aggression I felt inside. Which is what gave them the courage to move onto words, I guess.

"Excuse me, can you move?" I politely asked a group of guys to stop huddling around my locker. 

"Sure thing,  _ colossus _ ." One of them sneered. I only sighed through my nose as the rest of the group followed him, laughing like he'd just told the joke of the century. 

It only grew worse from there as they grew more courageous, the taunts and jests neverending. I even had to start taking P.E separately from the class, as no one wanted to have 'Gigantor' on their team.

"What's the weather like up there?" Was a phrase I'd be happy to never hear again.

"You know, the giant side is  _ that way _ ." Someone had told me, jabbing their thumb in the opposite direction. I only rolled my eyes.

But these were just the things they knew I could hear. What they said when they thought I wasn't around was a whole new level.

"--you _seen_ that kid yet? He's _monstrous._ " I heard one day, coming from the _teacher's_ _lounge_ of all places. 

"--makes me nervous." Another muffled voice spoke. There were varying sounds of agreement.

My hand was an inch away from the wood of the door, about to knock to see if Mrs. Miller was in there so I could ask her about an assignment, but upon hearing them my arm dropped to my side and my fist clenched so tight that my knuckles turned white. 

Even the people that had seemingly accepted me and spoke to me like I was normal didn't want me to be here.

My heart hammered in my chest and I turned on my heels towards my locker with a huff of pained annoyance. I suddenly didn't care about the assignment, didn't care if I went through the trouble of handing anything in at all. Why would it matter, when they're probably just going to give me the same good grades anyway? They were always too intimidated to give me any honesty, but if they just took the chance and got to know me then maybe-- 

My thoughts were cut short and I stopped dead in my tracks, a few feet away from my locker. There, on the sleek navy blue surface, the word "FREAK" painted the metal in black sharpie.

I started to shake. 

School had ended ten minutes ago, and the hallways were empty. Whoever did this was long gone by now, and probably laughing with their friends about it like it was nothing. But to me, it mattered. To have to deal with this, after I spend every second of my days trying to be friendly, approachable, or even blend into the background, hurts. It hurts that I don't even have an idea of who wrote it- hell, it could have been anyone in the whole school! No one here likes me, despite my best efforts. 

Hot tears pushed at the corner of my eyes and I turned once more to leave the building, not even bothering with my locker. I had to get out of there before anyone could see me so upset and call me a giant wuss or something. They were just words, but I couldn't handle any more of them right now.

They spilled past my eyes and down my cheeks as I pushed through the doors at the end of the west wing. Usually the gust of fresh air would make me feel better, and normally being out of the building would bring a small smile to my face, but I felt nothing. Nothing but anger, frustration, resentment... 

With each step I took, the anger faded into a feeling of hollow sadness. The distance gained between me and the school put me at ease a little, but I knew that I'd just have to go back and deal with it all again tomorrow. My frantic pace slowed to a trudge and eventually I slumped against a tree, bringing my head into my knees.

I knew nobody was around, but at this point I didn't care if anyone saw or not. I didn't care what they'd call me. It would be true, after all. The seal behind my eyes had broken and for a bit I just sat there, crying not-so quietly into my arms, wishing that I could just disappear. The world here seemed to be better off without me in the picture. 

"Hey," a soft voice broke through my clouded thoughts and muffled sobs. "Are you okay?"

My body tensed up, brain going on high alert. I thought I had gone far enough away from the school to avoid people, but I guess not.

"Go away," I growled, not even looking at who approached me. I didn't want to deal with any more teasing. "Please." I added, also not wanting to scare them.

But whoever it was didn't seem to back away in the slightest. If anything, I could hear them get  _ closer _ .

"I will," they said, stopping a few feet closer. "but I just want to make sure you're okay first." 

I scoffed. Since when does anyone around here care about how I feel? But… it didn't sound like they were joking. Hesitantly, I ever so slightly lifted my head to peer down at whoever had approached me. Through the strands of my short messy hair I could make out the shape of a girl, maybe half my height. I blinked away the blurriness from the tears, and the image of her sharpened.

It was Karina, a girl in my grade from a few of my classes. One of which was P.E, before I had to drop out. We've never really talked, but I've never had a problem with her. She looked up at me from behind her square glasses with soft eyes and a kind smile, one that wasn't fake. Something I haven't seen in a while.

"Why do  _ you _ care?" I asked, my voice hoarse. I didn't want to be rude to her, but I genuinely didn't understand her motive. Nobody else would have given a shit that I was out here alone.

"Because…." She answered with enthusiasm, before realizing that she had nothing to follow up with. "I don't like seeing people upset, so I wanted to try and help." 

My heart skipped a beat at the word 'people'. She says she sees me as just a person, but I know that isn't true. Humans don't accept things that are different from them.  _ And I'll never be just like them _ .

"Why would you want to interact with a  _ monster _ like me," I grumbled, burying my face back into my arms.

"What?!" She exclaimed, genuine shock on her face. “You’re not a monster, Jake. Don’t listen to them.”

"You hear it!" I argued back, voice rising slightly in anger. "The things they say. 'Freak, giant nuisance, waste of space'." I scoffed again, listing off just a few of the things I'd heard in my short time being here. 

My voice drops to barely a whisper as I remember for the thousandth time how much better things were in my last town. "I'm nothing but an oddity here and I want to leave." 

There was a long pause, before Karina finally broke it and spoke up.

"Well.… I like odd things." She stated, albeit a little awkwardly. 

I almost laughed, if not for how taken aback I was.

"If it's any consolation, I think you're cool." Karina continued. "And not just because of your size. But because of how much shit you put up with and how nice you still are. I mean, you even added a  _ please _ after telling me to go away," she chuckled. 

"Trust me, you're not a monster. The real monsters are the people who did this to you." 

I sniffled, the tears having finally come to a stop. Something about her presence and her words made me calm down a little-- even my shaking had lessened. I looked down at her once more, and I felt my heart wrench inside my chest. 

"I've.. never had someone say something like that to me before," I croaked out after another long moment of silence. 

"Well it's true," Karina beamed, glad to see that her attempt to help was working. "You're one of the strongest people I've ever met. And not just physically." 

At that, I actually did let out a small laugh. Usually with my size, the only strength that mattered was physical. I didn't even stop to think that my emotional strength would be considered, let alone celebrated. Especially not after being found ugly crying under a tree.

And she used that word again, 'people'. Like I was just another person in her daily life. Like I wasn't different from everybody else. Like I was an individual, and not some object to gawk at.

"Thanks, Karina." I managed to get out without crying again. I smiled softly at her. "I mean it." 

"You're welcome, dude." Her bright smile widened even more, sending a rush of warmth and safety through me. In that instance I knew that I didn't want to disappear anymore, because I never wanted to be without this feeling.

"Want to go for a coffee…?" She asked, breaking the silence once more. "We can sit outside." 

So many emotions swelled up inside of my head, but this time they were actually good.

"......I'd like that." I answered with a nod, giving the most genuine smile I have all week. 

Suddenly, going back to school tomorrow didn't seem so bad.

Not when I get to see Karina.


End file.
